Minister Sun's pupils narrowed.
Officer Huang felt as if he had fallen into ice water. His skin crawled as he approached the minister in trepidation.
"Minister Sun, the matter was urgent and I failed to obtain the arrest warrant beforehand. The arrestee was a martial artist, the son of Xu Pingzhi of the Armed Guards. There was a chance he could escape." Officer Huang was not a loyal man. With the minister just six feet away from him, he quickly shifted the blame to someone else.
"Nobleman Zhou sent his man to make a formal accusation. He accused the man of assault and bloodspill. All this was witnessed by the public. As the situation was critical, I decided to go ahead with the arrest to avoid losing the suspect."
Officer Huang told the truth. There was no point in lying when the Imperial Astronomers and the White Deer Academy elders were present.
Fighting in public was a crime with a 50-lash punishment.
Other than the missing arrest warrant, everything else was according to the law. In the Ministry of Justice, there were many instances of arrest without warrant.
The white robes from the Imperial Astronomers frowned.
Li Mubai and Zhang Zhen exchanged a look. Li Mubai took a step forward and intoned, "The sage calls for the gentleman to speak truthfully."
Lub-dup, lub-dup…
Officer Huang felt his heart rate pick up. Blood rushed to his face as regret gnawed at his chest.
He hated his lying self—his mind screamed in objection to his reprehensible behavior.
His mouth betrayed his will and spat out the words. "Nobleman Zhou wants Xu Qian to die in the jail cell of the Ministry of Justice as revenge. I… I wanted to earn favor."
The confession made his heart lighter. A sweat-covered Officer Huang collapsed onto the ground.
A collective gasp was heard. The dozen or so officials who were in the courtyard stared at Officer Huang—looks of disdain, disappointment, and delight were abound.
"Utterly shameless! I shall petition for your impeachment immediately," the Justice Advisor said.
'The fifth-ranked Confucianism, virtues…' Minister Sun maintained his composure. He took one look at the pale and dumbfounded Officer Huang and ordered. "Pass on my message. Release Xu Qian."
…
The heavy clanking of manacles accompanied Xu Qian on his journey to the interrogation room. Within the room sat Nobleman Zhou—he had changed into an indigo robe that was well-insulated but not bulky.
The young nobleman sat with one leg up on the chair. A white cloth was tied around his injured ear.
The slender old man was still dressed in his blue gown with gold accents. He stood beside the young nobleman—his hawk-like eyes followed Xu Qian's every move and his murderous intent was barely contained.
Two jailers stood beside the collection of torture instruments, thrilled to witness Xu Qian's demise.
The young nobleman waved his hand and one of the jailers tossed a piece of paper before Xu Qian.
Nobleman Zhou gave Xu Qian a scornful look. "Two paths: sign the confession or experience the pleasures of all these torture instruments, then sign the confession."
Xu Qian skimmed through the confession and got the gist: Changle County Courts Fast-Hands Xu Qian got into an argument with Zhou Li and initiated a physical fight. With intentions to kill, he caused severe injuries to Zhou Li. The constables arrived on the scene to arrest Xu Qian…
'The lightest sentence for public violence against the son of an assistant minister is banishment. This man might even ask for a public execution. No way out…'
Xu Qian turned to look at the young nobleman. "Confess now to suffer less?"
A smirk appeared on Nobleman Zhou's face. "No. I'm letting you choose the order, punishment or confession first?"
The jailers laughed along.
That sobered Xu Qian up.
Nobleman Zhou enjoyed having the upper hand in conversations. The hatred and helplessness in the eyes of his enemies fueled him.
He chuckled and said, "How scary. Elder Chen, are the manacles secure? We don't want to risk him going mad and harming people."
The gaunt-faced elder said, "Rest assured. He's a mere bug that I can crush instantly."
"That's reassuring." Zhou Li stood up and walked toward the torture instruments. "There are 24 torture tools here, each can cause immense pain without killing. They're used by the Ministry of Justice to obtain forced confessions.
"I won't give you a quick death, that'll be too kind. I hear the Night Squad's prison has more than a hundred torture instruments. No one leaves that place alive. It's unfortunate that you'll never experience it."
Xu Qian's eyes were instinctively drawn to the torture instruments. There was a chair with nails, a rusty needle, a bloodstained saw… Every instrument promised a painful and bloody experience.
Xu Qian gulped—his face was white as a sheet.
'Where is Lady Caiwei? Constable Wang should have gotten to her by now. Is she unwilling to help?
'No, the book is written in such a way no alchemist can resist. She should be hungry for the missing content. If she doesn't show up soon, I'll be a goner. Even if I survive the torture, I will definitely be disabled.' Beads of sweat formed on Xu Qian's forehead.
He felt fear like any normal person would.
Nobleman Zhou kept an eye on Xu Qian and was glad to find him utterly terrified.
He relished his enemy's distress and continued to say, "I hear you were raised by your uncle, Xu Pingzhi. Your relationship must be close. Hmm, I have reason to suspect this plot was construed by you and your uncle."
'He looked into my background.' The vein on Xi Quan's temple throbbed.
"This… Nobleman Zhou, that's not written in the confession," the jailer said.
"Fool, just rewrite one then." The other jailer snapped back.
"What are you waiting for? Write it down now." Nobleman Zhou laughed cruelly.
Laughter rang out in the interrogation room when suddenly, the metal door was busted open. A jailer entered, followed by a green-robed official.
The green-robed official took in the situation. Seeing Xu Qian unharmed, his shoulders sagged in relief.
"Release the man."
'Finally!' Xu Qian could finally relax.
The two jailers who were originally in the room turned to Nobleman Zhou.
The young nobleman took stock of the green official robe and studied the man's face. In a disgruntled tone, he said, "We're in the middle of an interrogation."
Amused, the green-robed official replied, "This is the Ministry of Justice. If Nobleman Zhou wishes to interrogate a suspect, kindly do it in the Ministry of Revenue. This is beyond your jurisdiction."
Then, he commanded, "Didn't you hear me? Release the man now!"